All Things Football Love and High School
by soccerflower95
Summary: Max and her family are moving to Colorado from Minnesota. Her older brother Ari was accepted to Auburn University. Follow Max as she and her newfound friends learn to embrace the flaws that make life interesting. All types of reviews welcome.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, My name is Quote_The_Inevitable, call me Gracie. This is a story after my somewhat prolonged hiatus from severe writer's block. My two other stories have been taken down and are no longer in existence. My stories will have a few spelling errors, I do make mistakes, I regrettably am human and super busy. I do feel that some characters are mis-profiled and I am giving them a chance at decency, with the exception of Dylan. It's a simple concept of a back button and finding a new story. Without further ado, the remake of my story, All Over Again. I will accept any review as long as you somewhat identify yourself. I am old, my mind reading isn't what it used to be..**

**~Gracie**

**If I am a girl and James Patterson is a male, does that make me him? No that does not you disclaimer police...I do not have the rights or I would abuse Fang into groveling for Max's pity.**

My name is Maximum Martinez. I just moved to Colorado from Minnestoa. Don't make fun of me, I do _not_ sound like country hick thank you very much . Sorry to disappoint you. My younger sister, Ella, by ten minutes looks nothing like me. Whereas I have the strange blondish hair and brown eyes she had the longer wavy dark hair and dark eyes, and amazing tan skin. She takes after my mom, obviously.

Why did we move? Well you see, Ella and I have a half-brother, Ari. He's a freshman at Auburn University in Alabama. We moved a few states closer, but Alabama didn't sound as much fun as Colorado had. Mom had given us a choice…more on that later.

Well, Ari's a football player, and even though his dad's in jail, he's an amazing big brother to Ella and I. He plays quarterback, obviously since we _did _used to live on a horse farm. We won't get to see him much anymore, but since we moved a state or two closer, he can drive up to see us. But Colorado Springs isn't all that bad. At least it wasn't Denver or Canyon City. We have snowboarding so there..eat that rainbow Charlie. So new high school in the beginning of freshman year, no friends except for my super social and total opposite twin, where I get in trouble for being smart…no Ari to defend me. Now I was slightly nervous.

High School. The terror of most teen's lives. Great.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay I am back! Second chappie in as many days..feel lucky? Ha, I had fun with this. And I know Max is a bit out of character no griping at me, I will tell why in later chaps. Okay on with this story!**

**~Imp**

Okay so I didn't exactly specify where my sister and I were. Coming into Colorado, we drove through Breckenridge and a little town, pretty much a gas station, a diner, and a scattering of houses, called Fairplay in the Buffalo Mountain, on the other side of Pikes Peak. About thirty minutes away is the town of Buena Vista and an hour and a half up the road is Breckenridge. But we kept on driving, two hours down into Manitou Springs, just down the highway from Colorado Springs. Ella and I live in Colorado Springs. What joy for me. We would go to Vista High, home of the Hawks.

Mom, Valencia Martinez, was chattering away with Jeb in the front seat. Jeb was Ella and I's father, Ari's dad, Christopher Jenkins, was arrested an accounts of abuse, alchol and substance mis-use, and DUI. Mom divorced that bastard when Ari was two months old, fearing for her son.

Couple months later and she met Jeb, got pregnant with me and Ella, and refused to marry Jeb point-blank until Ella and I were throwing footballs at age five. But Ari was the best big brother ever. Uncle John on Jeb's side, taught Ari how to play football when Ari was seven. And Ari came home to the backyard where my sister and I were always playing with the family dogs to teach us what Uncle John had taught him.

When I wa younger, I wasn't very social due to bad kindergarten and first grade experiences. I was fairly laid back in second grade and in third grade I started taking karate. The only person I socialized with aside from my siblings was my friend Anna. She lived on a farm close to ours and came over one day in kindergarten to smile and say hi. We'd been friends since.

"Hey Max." Ella was waving her manicured hands in front of my face. I blinked lazily, and pushed her hand from my face.

"Yes oh so lovely twin of mine?" Ella giggled and held up her cell phone.

"Ari's wanting to talk to you." I snatched it out of her hand faster than you could say roasted desert rat.

"Hello?" I asked quickly. My big brother laughed on the other line.

"Now your nose is out of your book." He laughed at me.

"Shaddap Ari." I snapped agitatedly. More laughter, and he brushed my comment aside.

"So Maxie, are you coming to parent's day?" he asked me.

"Hell yeah. I wouldn't miss it big bro." It was college ball's big day for parents to see kids before matches and Hell Week, after pre-season. Ari had gone three weeks early to set up and meet coaches. He was a legend in Minnestoa, and I knew he'd become a legend nationally too.

"Good, Good. There might be a party I can smuggle you two in, and some meatheads I want you to know." I smiled.

"Only if, you have people of your own you want me to meet, little Wallflower." He teased me endlessly. "I told you I couldn't protect you forever. Hey, you could apply to Auburn and be my freshie!" I knew he could hear me roll my eyes at his childish clapping.

"Only if you get a girlfriend." I replied in a snarky tone. Ari grumbled.

See that's what I love about my big brother, if he has a girlfriend that Ella and I don't like, he lets her off easy. I love ruling his life at times.

"Hey Maxie I got to go. Call you tomorrow." And he hung up on me. Love you too brother dearest.

I closed my eyes and tuned out my family and their psychotic ideas to drag me into a living Hell.

And here I was thinking they were supposed to be on _my_ side.

Some family I have. Sheesh, I may as well go in a hand basket.

Okay so I was a little over dramatic when I said I was going to Hell. The neighborhood was a maze, and our house was, dare I dream it, awesome. A clash of Victorian, and colonial, kind of. Plantation columns held up the front porch, a few wooden chairs set out with floor pillows. The front door was a dark wood inlaid with chrystallized glass. The front hallway was a lighter wood than the front door but led to a wide space, a foyer of sorts, with a dark wood staircase on the right hand side of the wall. Jeb's study was on the left hand wall, almost directly after the front hallway, and I could see the kitchen doorway in the back of the front hall. And in a corner at the back of the foyer, was a doorway leading into what I presumed the living room. Well, the back wall was entirely glass, a fireplace, bookcases, and an electric guitar stand. A mini-bar was tucked away and it also led to the back patio, the willow tree, and the pool. Okay so, maybe a bit better than a Minnesota farm, just a little.

"Max, Jeb has something for you and Ella." Mom whispered softly from the doorway. I followed her and Ella into the front hallway, where Jeb was kneeling next to two beautiful German shepards.

"Wow, thanks Jeb!" Ella squealed, throwing herself down in front of those beautiful dogs. I knelt down, and Jeb released the Germans.

"Both are neutered, one male and one female." He spoke softly.

"This is great Jeb, really, truly awesome." I held out my hand for the sniffing dog.

"They are puppies, two years old and need a lot of care from you." he warned. I nodded, Ella squealing like a five year old with the romping pup.

"Which one is this?" I asked him. The light caramel and dark chocolate coat was shedding over my fingers.

"This is the male. You name them." He took my mother's hand and led her to the living room.

"Alright Athos, what do you say we find the park, huh?" I asked him. And darn it if his ears didn't go straight up as his tail thumped the floor. I smiled at him.

Pffft, man's best friend my ass. Girl's best friend is more like it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello Dearies, no I have not died in a cataclysmic event in the last whenever the last number of hours you saw me ago. Yes I had finals and now they are done baby! And I wrote at least four other chappies in addition to this one while my computer was at Laptop Hospital. Couple more reviews? And thank you to all that wrote reviews..**

**No I am not a middle aged man, no I will not stop wishing I was a famous author. Get over it you disclaimer Nazis, ruin people's dreams why don't you?**

**OMPOV**

Fang caught the football, his shoulder ramming Iggy's sternum. The tall boy went down like a bad carton of vanilla ice cream.

"Nice block Fang!" his girlfriend Lissa laughed on the sideline, her coppery auburn hair shining in contrast with her vivid turquoise eyes. He laughed and then out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zane and Gazzy sneaking up sideways. Fang juked them both, running circles around the boys in the dirt.

"I think you're the next Ari Martinez." Igs grumbled, clear blue eyes glaring at Fang, his blond hair spiked and tipped in reddish- orange. Fang tossed the ball back to Zane.

"Dude, my brothers met the guy and he's already a legend at Auburn." Zane said.

"Lucky bastard. Don't rub it in; when you go to Parent Day at the campus your lousy brother will introduce you guys. Bastard." Gazzy muttered under his breath even more profanities. Iggy was watching the fence behind Fang, and he turned. On the street, a girl was walking with her dog, a golden German. Said German had slipped his collar and was pelting down the street after a bicyclist.

"Athos! Athos no!" she yelled once. The dog, Athos, took a look to his left, and saw Fang and Iggy. He jumped the fence and leaped skyward to sink his teeth into the football Zane and Gazzy were tossing back and forth, before it went off course into Fang's head.

"Athos, you are not a retriever or a wide receiver. Drop the ball." She hopped the fence nimbly. The collar in her hands, the leash looped over her arm. She glanced at the boys around her, and then rested on Lissa. Lissa smiled and snuck behind the dog, gripping the scruff before he could bound away.

"Thanks." The girl said, her blond hair falling from her loosely drawn back hair. She bent and slipped the collar over Athos's head, and cinched it comfortably. She knelt and slipped a finger in the back of the dog's teeth. The dog shook his head to dislodge her finger and in the process dropped the football.

"Sorry. Dog slipped the collar. Thanks for catching him." She spoke quickly, unease in her brown eyes.

"We'll get out of your way guys." Lissa gripped the girl's elbow and led her off to the benches in the side park.

Max POV

The red-head led me off to a wood bench to watch the guys resume their football play. I sat next to her, tugging carefully on Athos's collar to make him sit.

"Sorry. My dog slipped his collar." I mumbled.

"It's all good. My name is Lissa by the way." She tucked a strand of copper-auburn hair behind her ear.

"Max." I mumbled. Lissa's eyes sparked and she smiled warmly.

"Kickass name." I shrugged once and absently scratched Athos behind the ear.

"Did you say Athos, when you called for him?" she asked. I blinked carefully.

"Yeah. I didn't want to name him Porthos or Aramis, and D'Artagnan was pretty long."

"May I?" Lissa gestured to the lounging puppy. I nodded.

"I'm not, very social...ah." I shut my mouth, not wanting to stutter.

"Well, I don't get to meet many people outside of the football goonies. The whole team, the whole summer. Well, Gazzy's got himself a girl, and Nudge is just awesome." Lissa was bubbly and social, almost, welcoming. A shadow loomed over us both, and I looked up to see a tall boy with strawberry blond hair and bright blue eyes looking down over Lissa and me.

"Newbies, meet football hazing." He intoned.

"Igs shut up and go hit on someone else." Lissa told him irritably. I almost cracked a smile.

"How else am I supposed to ask her name?" he mumbled to Lissa.

"It's a simple question. It's called, 'Are you new here, my name is'." Lissa whacked the back of his head.

"Ow Liss." He grouched.

"I'm Max." I offered a tiny smile and peered up at the somewhere around six foot tall boy.

"Hey. Name's Iggy." He knelt down to scratch Athos on the back. I smiled and stood.

"Well I was trying to take Athos to a local dog park and that didn't work too well. I should probably try to find my sister and get home." Lissa's eyes flashed with either disappointment or sadness.

"Oh, that's cool then." She whispered.

"You wouldn't be able to show me where the mall is? Knowing Ella, she's already found it." Lissa brightened, nodding vigorously.

"Fang! I'm going with Max."She called. A tall boy with dark hair bent at the knees some fourteen yards away gave a thumbs up in acknowledgement.

"Boys." I muttered.

"Football, football, food." We mocked in unison, and burst out laughing. We walked out of the mini-green with Athos leading the way, ears pricked and tail slightly wagging with his walk. He occasionally stopped waited for Lissa and me and continued on.

"Little sis?" Lissa asked.

"No, twin, I'm the eldest by ten minutes." Lissa turned to me.

"Really? Gaz and Ig are twins, thirty seconds apart, but wow. I wish I had a twin or an older sib. You're so lucky." I smirked and shook my head.

"My bro's kinda out there. You'd think he was five. Ella's pretty cool though, I think you'll like her." I looked at the ground.

"Oh, before I forget, my girls and I are going to the mall next weekend for back to school clothes shopping, supply list shopping, and maybe the salon after for haircuts. Nudge is making me go, and I really need someone to suffer with me." She turned pleading Bambi eyes on me.

"Or we could toss her Ella and book it?" I suggested. Lissa laughed.

"Maybe that would work, and I can unleash zebras from the mall, throw Gazzy at her, and bubbles will teleport us to Mt. Princeton!" **[A/n: I had to put this in there somewhere. Sarcasm is awesome, even if it isn't totally accurate..]**

"Don't forget the snowboarding out to Minnesota where we can hide in the cattle trail-"

"No we cut off the top of Pikes Peak and hide in there!"

Lissa and I dissolved into laughter as we rounded the corner to the mall. Ella was standing out front with her dog, Callie.

"Lissa that's my little sister Ella and her German Callie." I told her.

"Do we bolt now?" she asked conspiratorially.

"No, we shall wait, and then hide in Hot Topic. It's so Goth, they'll never find us." She nodded.

"Agreed." We looked at each other and laughed. My first best friend on self motivation, I was rolling fireworks baby!

"Wow Max, a new friend? That's awesome!" Ella was all smiles as we departed Lissa at the mall, where she had dialed her dad to pick her up. I smiled and swept my hair behind my ear.

"Oh by the way, Mom asked us, meaning you to find the grocery store on our, your, way home."

"Where are you going?"

"To meet my new friend Nudge."

Shit.


	4. Chapter 4

**If you need clarity on what I'm talking about, PM me, but here is chapter 4 of Football Love, and Highschool…**

**Disclaimer: ****If I owned Max Ride, would I really be sitting at home typing this fanfic? Would Fang have left? No, and oh wait-no. ~Gracie**

Fang POV

Okay so I admit it was shocking taking a look in those wide brown eyes of the new girl. I was tempted to ask her name, and then my girlfriend led her away. Girls. Why do they have to be so dang social?

The guys and I continued to muck around, tossing and scrimmaging, making jokes and comments, mostly about our new football idol Ari Martinez.

Ari, as the stories go, took up football before he could walk, and in elementary he was so involved and competitive he played with adults. By middle school, they were asking for him, and in high school, everyone was crawling over him. When he entered college, he got so many full scholarship offers, and he declined two thirds of them. Nobody knows why he chose Auburn, but some deal went down that not only made the coaches happy, Ari was happy too, and paid for his entire tuition and nobody knows what happened to the scholarship. He has no siblings as far as anyone knows and people imagine him with his little brother or something.

Or that's how it's told, what I heard. See, I'm the quarterback for my high school, and I want to be just like the legend Ari, so much I might be looking at Auburn for a year of mentoring from him. Zane, his two brothers Dane and Duke go to Auburn as linebackers. Stupid bastard of a friend is getting to meet the legend himself. Dammit.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Iggy walking towards my girlfriend and the newbie, and somewhere in there he gets a whack on the back of his head. Thank you Lissa. New girl stands, her dog standing up with her. Lissa's face falls and I'm resisting going over and yelling at newbie, when she says something that puts a smile on Liss' face.

"Fang! I'm going with Max!" she calls out. Max, the name suits the girl. I put a thumb up to let her know I heard her, bending and squatting at the knees to keep my eye on Zane.

"Set, hut!" I command. The ball is snapped back and I throw it long to Zane, auto TD. Loud laughter comes from my right, Max and Lissa watching us and giggling. Oh brother, why, why, why of all things did guys have to decode girls? I will never get it.

"Fang! Head out of the clouds man!" Gazzy barks. I roll my eyes, my emotionless mask never wavering.

"Yeah I'm coming." I shake my head and follow my friends.

-~random time lapse line~-

I sat at home watching CSI and ignoring my dog's stares. It began to slowly creep me out.

"Fang! Weed the garden please!" my mother yelled from the kitchen, I heard the smash as she started whacking the crap out of some poor food item.

"Yeah whatever."

Outside was sunny, and when my dog followed to stare some more I chucked some toy at Dixie, my little cousin's pitbull. Alex the malamute hauled his ass up to roll over on the porch, eventually sitting and watching Dixie hit the tree in an attempt to return whatever the hell I chucked at her.

Muddie, the black German Shepard on the other hand had started rolling in the flower bed, hence the name-

"Muddie!" I snapped. God that dog is an idjit. I weeded the flowers in silence, and stood, staring at the mountains beyond my home. As the sun went down, a soft orange and red sunset seemed to set Pikes Peak on fire. Alex bumped my thigh with his nose. Roscoe, our Great Dane and bull mastiff Newfoundland mix came ambling to the door.

He's a big dog, that's all I can say, frickin huge. He's taller than my eight year old cousin, on all fours, taller than my dad on his back legs, and my dad is 6'6. Yep he's a monster.

"Move it Ros." I nudged his square head with my hip, and carried the trash bag to the side of the house to throw it out. Roscoe stood on his hind legs, his head above the fence.

"Hey Sandlot! Your dog's loose." A familiar voice came drifting over the fence. I climbed up while Roscoe woofed, a deep rumble that shook the fence. I scratched his ears when the other barking dogs shut up, especially the rat dog next door. I saw Max and Athos, another German at her side, actually four, two golds and two black German Shepards, a retriever, and a boxer.

"Got enough dogs?" I joked. Dixie whined below Ros and me, so I pulled a bouncy ball from my pocket and hurled it across my back yard, watching her follow the erratic bouncing. Alex only rolled onto his stomach and watched Muddie dig at the fence.

"Haha very funny. As if you're one to laugh. Lissa said you had four dogs, and by the looks of it two and a half are crushing your fence."

"Who Ros? Nah he just wants to say hi." I glanced at Ross, his spotted coat almost like a pit-rott mix but the great Dane dappled it down, and the Newfoundland part of his mutt line was coal dust, he was huge and he was handsome, but the mastiff? Why do you think Max can see him? My fence is five and a half feet tall.

"Roscoe? Really? That thing is a monster." One of the Germans tugged and Max whistled sharply. Muddie stopped digging.

"You have six. Dogs that is." I pointed out.

"Only two are mine. The Goldie Shepards. The Darkie Sheps are my sister Ella's and the other two belong to my brother. He's at college right now but his dorm waived the okay for pets, his roommates have dogs too."

"Is that a gold retriever?"

"Ace. He's a good dog. Our last retriever Jabaw kept herding us. You'd be walking one direction when his teeth are on your elbow dragging you a different direction. You follow him and he drags the original direction."

"How old was he?"

"Fourteen when he passed. He was our only family dog at the time."

"Sorry for your loss, sounds like he was a great dog."

"He was. I'm sorry but I should get home. I have to go shopping with Lissa and Ella tomorrow. My sources say a Nudge is coming too, and that it's not a good thing."

"Good luck young Max. You will be sorely missed."

"I'm sure I will be. Take care Fang." She clucked softly to the dogs wrapped around her, and I watched fascinated as they untangled themselves and started walking as close to her as possible, wagging tails and turning adoring looks only a dog could give to her. Roscoe whined, his massive head resting on the fence. I never really bothered to question how she knew Ros was short for Roscoe. Hmm-oh well maybe another time I'd ask.

"You break the fence you owe me a new one." I told him, hopping down. I heard a not so quiet thump as Ros dropped to all fours again, lumbering with huge steps after me.

Why use an alarm when you have Roscoe? He's too huge to mess with, sometimes it's scary.

One look at a stranger, he goes berserk with the woofing, it's like a cannon blast that wakes up the whole neighborhood. Added to the fact that he jumps on people and has a tendency to growl as a way of greeting and people would be scared shitless to do anything but heave the mammoth off and book it downtown. But he is a gentle giant thank god or we would have had to put him and Dixie down. Dixie 'cause she's a pit and Ros because he's an elephant of a dog.

"It all works out when small children can ride your dog like he's a flipping horse." I mutter, walking into a small coat room type space for the dogs to eat.

Later that night I sat up thinking about football, Lissa, and Max. Football 'cause it's been my life, Lissa obviously because she's my girlfriend, but Max left me puzzled and confused. I could swear I've met her before. I think.

Eh thinking hurts. Within five minutes I was passed out next to Roscoe, Muddie somewhere under my bed, and Alex off in my closet. Dixie was with Angel, or was until she landed on my stomach.

MAX POV

I sat down at my desk, smiling to myself, while Athos was sprawled over my feet. Hera, my other Goldie was on my bed curled up like a cat in the dying rays of sunshine. Mom and Jeb had brought the other two home, a Darkie and a Goldie with the deigns of family dogs. But when I named the other Gold Shepard Hera and she sat on my feet, Ella's new Riley went into her room and burrowed under her bed. There went that idea.

Jeb got me my first guitar for my ninth birthday. He's been working with me since, teaching me to sing, to dance, to play, he shaped the better part of my artsy side. Mom however gave up on teaching me to cook the more fancy stuff. I usually went out to play ball with Ari or Jeb. Sometime even Uncle Daniel sometimes. Dan-o we called him.

After yesterday and meeting Lissa, mom had let me put the groceries away before taking Ella and I to meet Jeb at the pound. They had a well teamed Boxer two year old and a gorgeous year old retriever. Ace, and Jake, whom Ella and I sat and played with while mom and Jeb explained that Auburn allowed pets on campus. I sent Ari photos and he let Ella and I decided his pets. Which ended with Jake and Ace, the youngest, most friendliest puppies in the pound who were old enough to be trained already.

My thoughts had turned melancholy for unknown reasons, and I had leashed all the dogs and went wandering through the neighborhood. I amazingly had not gotten lost, with the dogs to sniff and tug me around, but the cannon blast from a huge ass dog had pretrified me.

Seeing Lissa's boy Fang hop up next to the behemoth had me laughing to myself, as only Fang would have a dog that big. I think he practiced his tackles and footwork with that thing. A paw wound up in my lap, and I looked into Ace's big brown eyes, his gold fur highlighted in the sunset. I stood and sat at my window seat, to watch the sun fall, the dogs sitting at the ledge. I stood to draw the curtains around my little hidey hole, the cream and peachy red calming and soothing as I strummed my guitar, watching the moon sink below the horizon, the tip of Pikes Peak lit with flame.

What was Ari doing? Had he already seen the sunrise and thought about the times when he would sit with Ella and me, talking and planning? Were people nice to him for his personality? I worried endlessly, turning the questions in my mind. Ace stood, and walked through the haze of fabric to what I presume to leave. Instead he came back in with the book I'd been reading last night.

_Sense and Sensiblity, _of course. I took the old book from him, surprised at the zero slobber on the leather cover. A slip of paper fell from the ancient book. I picked it up, setting my guitar back on the front step to my little stage. Glancing at the ceiling first, I looked at the pencil lines for the inner layer of curtains I would set up and the track for the sliding doors I wanted to install to the stage part of the platform, since the bump out was deep enough and far enough back from the section of wall with my closet and media cabinents, my stage was technically a room within the room. Sighing, I unfolded the note, taken aback at Ari's scrawl.

**Hey Maxie. How's it going? **

**Look, I know you didn't really like Minnesota, and I think now is a good time to tell you I kicked the crap out of Mick. I talked to the dean and if you want to visit anytime here at Auburn, you're always welcome. You and Ella even have a practical scholorahsip to Auburn if you girls wanted it. I can't wait to see you and Ells at Parent's Day. **

**But we know that's not what I want to say. BE CAREFUL.**

**Be safe Maximum. I know it's tough but check it with the attitude. You'll make great friends and if you don't I'll come kick butt for ya. Watch Ella. Call me, email me, Don't be a stranger. **

**I love you both. But you need to be careful Max, some people are not at all who they appear to be. Chris was one hell of an example. You run into trouble call me. Don't hesitate. **

**Remember, if you need it, come visit, come find me, hell come kick it with me from time to time. I miss our days together, you me and Ella-Bella. **

**~Ari**

Oh that jerk. He knew I hated guilt trips. But I took his warning in stride. Chris was indeed one hell of an example that fucker. I hated him, Ella hated him, Jeb hated him because Mom and Ari were traumatized by him. That drunkard. Abusive blackguard. My dark thoughts were turned to my cell phone, vibrating on my desk beside the bookcase, the desk I'd assembled at five this morning after I had taken the dogs for a jog around the neighborhood.

_Hey Max, coming in fifteen-L_

_**Cool, be outside-M**_

I walked into my bathroom, taking a brush to my hair, and sweeping my hair up into a high ponytail. I walked into my closet for dark wash blue bootcut jeans, and a black and neon green splatter t-shirt. I pulled on white DCs, and grabbed my phone, setting _Sense and Sensibility_ on my desk with Ari's note still clutched in my hand. I left my door open, letting the breeze from my open window draft through, glad I'd swept the outer curtain layer back into the ties in the wall. Our house wasn't exactly small, we'd learned to have a larger house since Ari usually brought friends home from school, or Ella wanted sleepovers with friends. I was solitary.

I had ten minutes to kill so I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, and a second for Lissa, going out the open front door, sitting on the deep set wraparound porch. The side of the porch stopped at the side of the house before the six foot tall gate and fence, the other side drifting up. Customized, my mother had asked the builders to make small alcove for the front door, and the porch sloped up onto the roof of the garage, we had rails of some kind so we didn't fall off, and the south end of the house's porch curved to the roof, a small ladder connecting the two levels out of three, Ella and I shared the top floor.

I swung my way up onto the garage roof, sitting with Hera on the shingles. Her head rested on my knee as I dragged my fingers through her hair.

Did Ari really think that I wouldn't tell him if I ran into trouble-oh hold on and shut the front door. No I really wouldn't tell Ari, which is why it was so bad in first grade. I heard the teasing in my mind and squeezed my eyes shut.

A car horn blared and I glanced down to see the SUV Lissa was driving. [**A/N: they were born in Summer so they're already fifteen and have permits…shh they don't have an adult…]** A Nissan SUV from the looks of the ski rack on top, the chrome color glinting in the early morning sunlight. I kissed Hera's furry cheek and slid down the sanded railing to the ramp leading over the front walk to the front door, and landing on the first level.

"Yo Ella! Come on!" I yelled up the stairs.

I strode out to get in the front seat of the SUV, turning to Lissa.

"Ready for hell?"

"We won't be back." I butchered Arnold and the Terminator to sound like a spoof. Lissa cracked a smile and reversed.

"Is it okay to leave your dog on the roof?"

"There's rails and a ramp. I left the front door open since Jeb's home." Ella shut the door behind her and walked to get in back.

"Umm Ells?"

"Windows." She replied. Lissa pulled out, and we went to get Nudge.

And begin the ever long hell of shopping.


	5. Chapter 5

**Just so you all know, these guys are in the summer between frehman year and sophomore year. Ari has just started going to Auburn. He's four years older than Max and Ella. The family moved to Colorado so it isn't as far to visit. However, they didn't want to live all the way down in the South, it's pretty muggy in the Alabama/Georgia area. So I picked Colorado :) Yes, I've posted the story before, but I haven't been on Fanfiction in about a year and a half or so due to school. So I'm back and rewriting this story. Hope that clears a bunch of confusion!**

**~Gracie**

Max 

Lissa and I hung back behind Nudge and Ella. When I first met Nudge, my first impression was how beautiful she was. Soft caramel skin and mocha eyes with wild chocolate hair in curly corkscrews, and a bright white smile as she grabbed her purse and came flying out the door.

Then she'd opened her mouth and hasn't shut up since. But I still thought she was pretty cool. The first store had been Areopostle for Nudge and Ella, while Liss and I took cover in Borders. Thirty minutes later we walked out with a new sketchbook for me, a new pack of pencils for Liss, and we each had gotten three books we'd liked. Nudge and Ella however had two bags each already from one frickin store. Walking behind Nudge and Ella, trying for all the world to stay out of Nudge's psycho shopaholic eyesight I muttered to Lissa.

"I still say we book it."

"Food court hideout?" she mumbled back out of the corner of her mouth. I nodded and we slowed and when the other two kept walking, we bolted to the left and rode up the escalators to the second floor food court.

We were sitting the middle of the food court eating French fries and drinking chocolate shakes from MacDonald's.

"Thank God we're still alive." I groan, munching a crispy fry and sitting cross-legged on the table.

"I am too busy in Fryland." Lissa moaned in bliss as she ate more fries. She kicked off her flip flops, resting her bare feet on the tile. My feet were tucked under me as I nodded in agreement. Her light wash jeans were flares and she wore a plain purple polo with her shiny copper hair waving over her shoulders. My DCs were on the chair and we sat in silence, munching fries. I watched as Liss dunked a fry in her shake and popped it in her mouth. I shrugged and tried it. One word: _heaven_.

"I was a fry-shake combo virgin and I recently lost that virginity, thank god, hallelujah, and man that's good." I sighed and closed my eyes.

"You know, it's pretty nice to be able to chat with someone who can listen too. I mean Nudge is great and all but that girl and her motor mouth would raise Mother Theresa from her grave and convert her to an axe murderer. And Angel's just a bit young. She's only eleven, and she's smart and all, but some things you just can't tell and eleven year old. And all the guys do is eat, sleep, play video games, football, and laugh. They don't listen to problems or get off their asses for much of anything." Lissa stopped abruptly examining her nails. "My cuticle is bleeding."

"Then don't bite it." I reply absently, finishing my fries and shake.

"Yeah, I know. But still, I wish I could tell Fang this stuff and have him listen. Stupid football goonies." We were quiet. I remembered Ari telling me one time that guys have selective hearing. Something about guys only picking up what they want to hear and choosing to apply what they want to their lives. And how the only way to make them listen better, is to smart them where it hurts. Ego and-

"Hey! Football goonies!" I blurted out loudly. Lissa stared at me from where she'd been brooding at the table top.

"Yeah, football, football, food." She muttured.

"No! Football, girls, torture!" I was too damn happy to be coherent. Thankfully we were on the same brain lengths because after a second her eyes sparkled and lit up.

"Righteousness?" she was catching on. I didn't have time to explain.

"Levels?" how much mall to work with?

"Four." One main plaza to blast.

"Goonies?" how many targets.

"Forty, eleven per line." The whole damn team while we're at whatever it is the hell we're going to do.

"Excellent. Did I ever tell you that my big brother Ari taught me, that when you want a guy's attention, you want a guy to listen better, you target the pride and the ego at the same time. And since the team looks up to my brother, guess what we'll do to the tape? We send it to him." Lissa laughed manically. We leaned our heads in and began whispering.

We checked our numbers and The Plan, and then had Lissa text Fang.

"Knowing him and Iggy, the whole team will be here in less than fifteen minutes." She rushed. I grabbed my phone as it buzzed.

"Yo Ells, bring Nudge to the second level food court. Something big's going down soon."

"Want us to bring a little girl we found wandering?"

"Sure, why not." Lissa's ear was close to mine so she could hear.

"We need Fang's little cousin. He adores her." I spoke quickly.

"Oh baby this will kick ass!" Lissa and I slapped high fives, grinning demonically as we filled in my sister, Nudge, and the little girl Angel on the plan. Poor, poor, stupid little football goonies won't know what knocked them down. Never, never mess with Miss Maximum Martinez, ever.

I sat with the guys, playing Halo, eating popcorn, and wrestling in the house and the backyard. Roscoe barked and several of us steadied various food bowls.

"Ros, shut up!" I yell over the din.

"Oh! Dude! Fail!" Zane crowed as Iggy's man died yet again.

"Whatever Zane, Call of Duty rematch. Now." Iggy snapped. Someone's in need of a hug. I pulled my phone out of my pocket when it buzzed, seeing a text from Lissa.

"Let's go to the mall guys. Lissa said Nudge and Max are in trouble or something." The whole team got up to leave when Zane, Iggy, and Fang did. The guys outside poured in. As they piled into pickups and SUVs, some were pulling on shoes others pulling on shirts depending on where they'd been as they drove off to the mall.

Okay she;s a freaking genius. After I texted Fang, we had talked to local store managers and food court owners for the prank, friend's of my dad's and my mom. Some knew Max's brother from football and were willing to help regardless as long as they didn't mention that Ari was related to Max and Ella. Nudge practically fainted when she found out. An employee at the food court and his girlfriend had an idea to lure some of the team into the food court and secutrity helped set up with the mall board. As long as we cleaned it up it was a go. My poor Fang.

But they do need to get out of the house and learn that the girlfriend is always right. Listening helps too.

"Tape recording set?" Max asked. Several cameras were positioned where we wanted them, and Max would collect them later to put them together with sound and mail it to her brother at Auburn.

"All good here hun." Nudge's reply crackled through the walkie talkie.

"Yeah we're all good Maximum Genius." She smiled quickly, the second smile I've seen from her. And let me say, she's one hard cookie to read.

"Everybody ready?" she called loudly into the silent shopping center.

"All clear."

"This is awesome!"

"You got it Max!"

Various people, our minions-ehm _helpers_ were ready for our boys.

Awww, isn't revenge the best remedy? And the little girl we had let Ella and Nudge bring turned out to be Angel after all with her aunt, Fang's mom.

A shopping trip turned football showdown-smackdown.

I love my new best friend. I've only known her a few days. But she's my new best friend.

All positions set, and video recordings up. Ari had been notified and all we needed was the football team. My troops were in varied hiding places. The sliding doors opened.

Let the barricade fall.

"Now!" I hissed into the walkie talkie as Fang and the troop filed past me.

**Ahaha. A cliffy! Sorry lovies but I will have to get back to you later with the prank, meaning I still have to type it up! Check out the poll on my profile too please.**

**~Imp**

**P.S- reviews are welcome…and they are also inspiration to write. Death threats also help. Just saying.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello Loves. So here is Chapter 6 and a quick reminder to check out the poll on my profile. Enjoy the chapter, and apologies if it is a tad shorter than my usual chapters. I can try to keep them to a reasonable thousand word or more length but I doubt many will ever be as long as chapter four was. So here we are, the embarrassment of the Varsity Football Team of Vista High. **

**~Gracie**

OM

The boys ambled in, and instantly heard Nudge scream, good, loud, and clear and the boys turned to go in that direction, running into the store she was in.

"The perfect nail polish ever!" was heard amid the female shrieks as the boys were pelted with random lingerie and undergarments as they retreated away from Nudge and her nail polish in Victoria's Secret.

They next event happened when Angel took her cue and shrieked at the top of her eleven year old lungs. Fang's blood turned to ice and he raced to her with Zane and Iggy running behind him to the third level food court. Three boys got faces full of paint as people from the fourth floor took aim with paintball guns. Over the railing wall came tubs of boiling hot fry grease, honey, and buckets of multicolored feathers.

Fang glanced up to see a smirking blonde Max at the Varsity football team below. Second floor people sprayed the closest boys with silly string and neon spray paint. Fang glanced around wildly to see Lissa talking to some dude behind a first floor court counter and his girlfriend came out to trying to fight Lissa, pushing, shoving, yelling, and hitting. As he turned in that direction to help, covered by the other boys still being targeted, he slipped on scattered ice cubes and bouncy balls.

Eventually, the whole team tried to walk out and help Fang up under a bombarding of the ages involving Nerf guns, and they too slipped of the various liquids that suspiciously hadn't been there seconds ago.

Dozens of people, some familiar, some not, assaulted the two teams of eighty boys with silly string and more spray paint in neon pink, orange, purple, yellow, and green.

Pinging sounds and hollow thwacks resounded as they were under a falling barricade of Nerf guns, BB guns, and even more paintball guns. Streamers and confetti fell from the upper levels and the Varsity guys could only cover their heads and try to curl up into little balls as they were peppered from all sides. To the boys the event lasted hours until they finally cracked under pressure calling a mix of 'Mercy!' and 'Uncle!' huddling over to avoid the worst of the blows.

They called out for more than several minutes and a clear, loud, and defined command blasted over the gathered people.

"Cease Fire!" Max called out in an authoritive tone. Fang glanced up to see Lissa and Max holding cans of spray paint and paintball guns, his little cousin Angel holding confetti and a Nerf gun, Nudge and another girl holding BB guns and silly string and other random people with honey, feathers, silly string, spray-paint, and projectiles of some degree, of some sort.

Max stopped in front of Iggy, and leaned over the huddled Varsity football team, massive and muscled guys a lot bigger than she was.

"Scram." She whispered. A small opening in the crowd and the boys began to take off and bolt one by one, some tripping and climbing over each other to escape. Fang stood slowly, glaring at Max.

"I'll get you back Max, mark my words." He growled. He turned and jogged away.

Fang burst out into the midday sun, and glared daggers back at his girlfriend and her friends, Max and Angel among them. She may be the ringleader of her team, but Fang would salvage his damaged pride and reboot the dampened egos of the Varsity football team. They would make a comeback, and it would come back with a vengeance.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello my dears. I have hit a slight writer's block so ideas and inspiration to write are extremely helpful. A quick reminder to visit the poll on my website in the name of Ari's long term girlfriend's name. I also am posting another story called February Chance so check it out!**

**~Gracie**

**MPOV**

Never had I seen teenage guys like that, huddled on the crowd and half screaming half begging for mercy. I smiled evilly as my wet hair dried from my shower, curling at the ends slightly, as I uploaded the video to my computer. Don't worry; I backed it up on my laptop, and my thumb drive with encryptions and firewalls.

"Greetings from Colorado." I murmur absently as I tapped the send at the bottom of the screen, hitting the Auburn website tab and wondering how long it would take before the clip was all over the boys' varsity football team and the rest of the campus. And if Fang and the team found out, what would their revenge be?

I wake up to the sunlight streaming in to my room, the big window thrown wide open and no blinds or curtains to block any unwanted light. My window faces the backyard and there's a tall oak tree and a smaller pine tree next to my window, one branch leading five feet from my window. My walls are white, and there is no closet door, a bathroom on one side, and a white bed. White sheets, white mattress, white pillows, white headboard, plain hardwood flooring, it was completely not my style. I want to change it, so I amble down to Ella's room in my white long yoga pants and white tank top. See a trend yet? No? I didn't think so.

"I hate all this white!" She complains as soon as she sees me. I stifle a yawn. Her room overlooks the front of the house, the street, and the custom roof which was perfect for afternoon sky gazing. Callie bumps my leg and turns in a circle. Ella's bed is on the far wall, on the left of the window, facing into the room, and unlike me, she has a closet door and a bathroom. Convenient because she actually cares for fashion unlike me.

I shove a hand through my messy sloppy bun, what can I say, I hate it when my hair's in my mouth when I wake up. Ella huffs and stamps the parquet wood floor, sighing audibly. Her yellow tank top and off white yoga pants are the only splashes of color except for the monotonous walls, bed, floor and cardboard packing boxes.

"So do I. I'm hitting the hardware store and then the furniture store. Hell, while I'm at it, I'm probably going to Hobby Lobby or Michaels for art. You want to come and get rid of all this godforsaken white?" Ella looks at me as if I'm her personal savior.

"This is why I love you." She sighs. I ruffle her light caramel hair and pad away. I rummage through one of the cardboard boxes, and pull out a pair of long black stretch capris, white flip flops and a black t-shirt. I'm too lazy to fix my hair and it doesn't look that bad so I leave it. Since the capris are a thin material and I wouldn't wear them anywhere except the store I figure they'd be fine to get paint all over and I have more than one t-shirt. Hey if I really wanted to torture myself, I could say they'd only cost a dollar at Wal-Mart. I grab my cell phone from the charger where I'd set in on the floor and shut my door behind me. Hera looks at me lazily from her patch of sunshine at the end of the hallway and flops back down. Athos is at the bottom, ears perked and tail wagging.

"You don't get to come fuzz ball." I say while I trot down the main stairs which had a curve and a landing in the middle. The main foyer of the colonial styled house was well paced which meant there was a lot of space. I swung open the door in to the kitchen, strategically placed in the middle of the downstairs. In the middle of the living room, dining room, the study, and the foyer, with the sliding glass doors to the backyard behind it. Athos hopped on his front paws, whining, and I kneed his chest gently when he tried to jump up.

Ella thundered downstairs at that moment as I walked out with a bottle of water and my cell phone at my ear.

"Yeah, okay, we're ready now. Thanks Jeb." I glanced at Ella and sighed.

"Your shirt's on backwards X. Jeb will drive us there in the van." Ella nods and fixes her shirt. Jeb strolled casually downstairs in a pair of jeans and sneakers, a blue t-shirt and polishing his wire rimmed glasses. We piled into the van, a massive fifteen seater we'd gotten for hauling purposes and football transport a while back.

"To the paint store! Be gone with the whiteness!" Ella shrieked. I laughed and Jeb rolled his eyes. Muttering that it was only seven in the morning. I agreed with both of them.

Max has utterly humiliated the team, and me. She will pay.

"Fang! The washer broke I need you and Dad to go get a replacement now!" my mother calls down the hallway.

"Alright!" I hop in the truck while my dad puts away the video games. We pull into the lot and I see a familiar shade of honey blond hair swinging away, as Max seemed to glide into hardware store. Should I get my revenge now or make her sweat it out and wonder?

Decisions decisions decisions, so many to choose from.


	8. Chapter 8

**So I'm making a return to Fanfiction. Hope you enjoy my updates! **

**~Gracie**

Jeb pulled into the parking lot of the Home Depot some ten minutes later. I climbed out of the car and began to walk in, covering my mouth as I yawned. I was mentally making a list of things I needed to do; _get paint for the walls, go to furniture store, go to pet store,_ and all that fun jazz. Speaking of, my phone rang with Cab Calloway's 'Minnie the Moocher'.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey is this Max?" the voice belonged to a female.

"It is, may I ask who is calling?"

"It's Lissa, we met the other day. I got this number from your mom when I bumped into her at the mailbox."

"Oh that makes sense. I just got to the Home Depot with Ella. The whiteness was just too much, I feel like my house is Antarctica."

"It's seriously that white?"

"Everything, except most of the floors are white. My kitchen and living room are entirely white. I'd swear but that's rude, it's agonizingly blinding."

"What color are you going to go with?"

"I'm thinking splatter paint. But I'm not sure if black or white should be the base color. I'm thinking black so I can make the splatter more dramatic."

"Go black on one wall with the splatter and maybe apple green for the other walls? Do make the splatter more unique?"

"I made friends with a genius."

"Want help?"

"If you want, you don't have to."

"I want to if you're cool with it. As long as I don't creep you out, I mean we only met yesterday."

"I'm fine with it. Call you in, say, forty minutes?"

"Sounds like a plan." We hung up and I stood in front of the paint wall, pulling out bright colors that I wanted.

"Hey Max, what do you think of this orange color?" Ella handed me a sample card and the color was a burnt orange, like the kind only found at sunset.

"Looks cool, Ells, is it the only color?"

"No, it is part of this idea I have." She replied absently. Both of us were artistic, loving to paint and draw. I wouldn't be surprised if she did a mural. When we finally sorted out the wall paints we wanted, we went up to the counter, Jeb idly chatting with the elder man.

"You all good ladies?" Jeb asked. This is part of what made him a cool step-dad. He didn't talk down as if we were stupidly naïve and too young to get "adult" talk. He treated us like adults and was pretty chill most of the time. I hadn't seen otherwise.

"It's a start." Ella said shyly. She was still unsure of how to act, Jeb had only been married to my mom for two years. Jeb insisted on paying for us, even though Ella and I had brought our own money that we had earned.

"Save your money in case you go shopping and want to spend it on something else." He said. Reluctantly, we gave in. The ride home was filled with laughter once Jeb mentioned a call from Ari about our prank. He said he was proud of our creativity and wanted us to tell him the whole story. Once we got home, the smell of baking cookies hit our senses.


	9. Chapter 9

**IB really sucks. Just saying; I'll write this and then go sit in a corner rocking and muttering. Review please! [I gave a disclaimer once, should be enough yes?] **

**~Gracie**

Lissa and I sat on my canvas covered floor, paintbrushes in hand. Her burnished red-gold hair was twisted into a knot and held in place with a pair of decorated red chopsticks I'd dug out of my purse. Lissa had worn a pair of faded black yoga pants and a white tank top, her flip flops in the hallway outside my door. Streaks of neon green and yellow splattered her shirt, blue on one knee, purple on the other thigh, and random flecks all over. She even had a dash of orange on her face, and pink in her hair. I was just as bad, but my wall looked pretty badass.

The wall behind my bed was painted a midnight black from ceiling to floor and covered in neon splatter paint. The cans of evidence were lined up three feet from the wall, brushes to the side. It looked really awesome, and none of the paint had clumped together much to my satisfaction. The other three walls were going to be a softer green color, minus the white window seat, which I'd cover in colored pillows. My curtains were yellow; my bedroom door sported one of Lissa's designs. It was a black feather horizontally across the middle panel with my name in curling gothic script of neon green and yellow. The rough edges of the feather dripped black-red paint to form a pile of rose petals a foot from the bottom of my door. The top was curling black tribal pattern the dipped near to the feather but wasn't so cluttered that it was chaotic.

A knock on my open door had us both looking up from our sprawled positions on the canvas. My mom stood in the doorway with a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

"Figured you girls could use a break." She smield. Lissa grinned and sat up.

"Oh and Max, your brother called looking for you." I grbbed my phone so fast I was surprised it wasn't flung from my grasp.

"Thanks mom!" I told her. Lissa munched on a cookie and watched my animated face dial Ari's number.

"Yeah kiddo, vas happening?" he asked. I laughed and put him on speaker.

"I made a friend my first day here. Say hi to Lissa."

"HI LISSA!" Ari yelled. Jeez sometimes he acted like such a five year old. She laughed and said hi back.

"She said 'hi'." I stated reduntantly. Ari laughed.

"How's decorating?"

"Awesome, how's college?"

"Awesome. Hey, you and Ella are still coming for Parent Week right for the two weeks?"

"As long as we're allowed."

"I cleared it with the Dean today."

"Sweet beans broski. Hey you know that Gangnam Style song?"

"Yeah, with the Psy dude?"

"Well I found a bunch of MIT guys doing a parody called 'Oppan-Chomsky Style', check it out."

"Will do, hey your prank is already legened among the football team. Don't be overly surprised when they want to meet you."

"Okay then?" Ari said something away from the phone, suspiciously sounding like a girl's name.

"Hey Max, I'm going to class, talk later?"

"Yeah."

"Cool, good talk." He hung up and I burst out laughing. Lissa shook her head at me and her phone rang.

"Hey baby." I tuned out her conversation with Fang as Ella came bounding into my room. Yes, she was social but had the shy moments when she didn't feel comfortable talking around strangers. I followed her as she tugged my hand, stopping in her doorway. She had left one wall white, a large mural of an orange and scarlet blooming flower taking up the entire top two thirds of the wall. I couldn't tell what kind it was, but the outermost petals by the window stretched as if blown in a breeze. The ends dripped into colored music notes in shades of red and orange. The rest of her walls were painted yellow.

"Wow Ells, this is pretty fan-freakin-tastic. Love the music notes." Ella blushed shyly and pulled me to her closet door. Painted in the middle panel was another flower dripping into hummingbirds. Allowing Ella to tug me to the door of her room, I again saw her mural; this time a pair of red and orange splattered white wings outlined in black to see the detail. I was stunned.

"I love it Ella. You are an amazing artist."

"Amazayn." She whispered softly. I then noticed the soft One Direction songs on in the background. I ruffled her hair.

Three hours later, our rooms were painted and our bed frames were assembled, Ella's white and mine is a dark wood. Jeb had taken the task of getting actual furniture for us from various stores specifically for teens. I was in the process of pulling my framed photos out of a picture moving box. The gold frame surrounded my charcoal and pencil sketch of a gothic cathedral with flying buttresses, dark beams, and sconces on the wall. I had open windows instead of stained glass. My phone rang just as the sun was kissing the mountains.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Max, this is Nudge. I met you and Ella the other day at the mall just before the extraordinharry prank you pulled on the football team. Legend I'm telling you, those varsity guys deserved it, some are real jerks, but not all 'cause some are really cute and sweet but anyway- I was wondering if you and Ella were available to hang out tomorrow?" Surprisingly I understood her.

"Where at and when?"

"Umm-I think we were going to a movie at the mall. After that, I think the park, the movie is at eleven."

"Sure, I think we can do that."

"Awesome, would you guys need a ride?"

"Probably, we don't know where anything is."

"Okay, cool. See you tomorrow!" Nudge hung up and I smiled. Exhausted, I set my picture down gently, propped against a wall as I crawled into my freshly made bed, the green and yellow sheets matching my neon wall. My pillow was white with purple-black wings on them, the rest were grey and black plaid. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out cold.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey all! I'm back…my Environmental Societies teacher decided to assign a massive project and kill us in essays. Fun, not so much. Yes, I am basing this school off of the one I attend in real life, if you can guess it, you're a ninja. Thank you to Elemental Dragon Slayer for the help and being so awesome! You rock my friend **** so here, without further ado, is Chapter 10!**

**~Gracie**

Three weeks after Ella and I had finally painted and furnished our rooms, the end of summer was impending. My mom thought now would be a great time to get started on back to school clothes shopping, navigating the city and figuring out what clubs we wanted to join.

Shy little Ella wanted to join Art Club while I was having trouble finding my own to join. I sighed a big breath, seated at the barstools at the kitchen counter. The list of clubs we had printed off the school website was in front of me, Ella's club choice highlighted in plain yellow. I scanned the list again, raking a hand through my hair. Ella paused in getting the ingredients for dinner on the counter. She carefully picked up the paper.

"You could join Art Club with me." She said softly. I looked up at her warm dark eyes. The sides of her hair were twisted and pinned back from her face. Loose curls fell to her rib cage, a beautiful dark mahogany that nearly looked black. Chewing her bottom lip, she scanned the page again.

"What about Vista Live?"

"The musician club?" She nodded carefully.

"They also have a Paranormal Club." I made a face as she washed her hands.

"Strategy Club?"

"I'm not feeling it Ella Bella."

"What about the Physically Artistic?"

"I'm not sure, maybe."

"The Spanish, French, Italian, or Korean Club?"

"Eh."

"Eco Club? Masque and Sandal?"

"I don't do well with performing in front of people. Unless it's sports."

"What about the Running Club?"

"I like the direction. But Mom already found a nearby dance school I'll attend after school."

"Hmm, umm there's Digital Audio Club, Invisible Children, Club Red, Chem club, Book Club, Poetry Out Loud and Writer's Guild. Those are the only other ones I can think of that you'd like among the like, two hundred options."

"Ugh, this is hard. I'll have dance twice a week and any other time I want to jump in. I'll probably take my runs in the morning. We already sponsor a family in Africa, remember Mom and Jeb went to that Swaziland missionary last summer and we stayed with Uncle John? Why join Book Club when I'll probably just read on my own without discussing it with a bunch of people."

"You could still do Art Club." I smiled.

"I think I might every now and again Ella Bella."

"Wait! You could manage a sport team!" I smiled at Ella, and she focused on peeling the potatoes in front of her.

"I'm thinking football."

"I thought so, but when is boys' soccer?"

"Same time as football I think."

"Is it possible for you to do both?"

"Nah, well, maybe I'll switch next year." I leaned on my elbows, watching Ella boil the potatoes to soften them.

"What are you making?"

"Sheppard's pie." She answered with a soft grin. I fist pumped.

"Meat and potatoes!" She laughed quietly. As she closed the oven on the meat, and set the crust for the filling I moved to stand next to her. Ella loved cooking, and usually went all out when it was her night to cook. We cycled through; Mom went first, then Ari, me and Ella, obviously through age. Jeb got cut from the circle when he somehow set boiling water on fire. I wasn't a five star chef like artsy little Ella, but my cooking wasn't that bad.

"Ell, how are you doing?" wide, doe-like brown eyes full of terror and confusion met my own ocher eyes.

"I always feel like if I'm not watching over my shoulder, I'll turn around one day and see him behind me. Waiting, watching, smiling, I'm scared Max, I can't lie, but if I don't get over it, I'll live my life in a shadow. I can't go back to that place, not now, not here. This move is a new slate for me. Ari isn't here. You can't follow me around all day. I have to learn." Her lip was trembling with suppressed tears, and I felt like a lump of cotton was lodged in my throat. I blinked back my own tears and opened my arms for her. We hugged until the meat was ready to by smothered by the mashed potatoes, gravy and wrapped in the breaded crust. We hugged until the two little girls in the dark closet corner could face the light and mask their doubts, until we both didn't feel like going into a hysterical crying jag, or running to the point of collapsing on the side of the highway. But the residue of that tainted time still haunted us, like an old ghost still un-reconciled with an unsavory past.


End file.
